Opinion | Can China and the US pursue virtuous competition, rather than vicious rivalry, to avoid Cold War 2.0?

Ever since the Trump administration targeted China as a strategic competitor, and with the Biden administration so far largely following Trump’s established rules against China, Sino-US competition and confrontation have become a feature of the times.

For many, this “great power” competition has caused a disturbing sense of déjà vu and feelings of uneasiness: are we already in a Cold War 2.0?

An increasing number of visible and invisible walls are being erected, whether they be trade and investment controls, science and technology barriers, visa denials, app bans, unfriendly polls and poisonous media articles, calls to boycott the Olympics, and other vitriolic exchanges, hate crimes against Asians, racial discrimination, anti-intellectual culture or identity politics. 

These walls even extend beyond the Earth into outer space. Thanks to the 2011 Wolf Amendment, the US and China are exploring Mars in complete isolation. Separate space stations are becoming the new reality. 

There has been a surge in politically motivated legislation and lawsuits, with fabricated accusations of espionage and national security breaches frequently reported.